Details

Getting there: It's about a three-hour drive to the Wilds from Cleveland, via I-77 south and I-70 west. Exit I-70 at Ohio 83 south (exit 169). Take Ohio 83 to Ohio 340 west to International Road, which will take you to the park entrance.

Tours of the Wilds: Daily safari tours June through August. Weekends in May, September and October. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Last tour departs at 4 p.m. Prices range from $20 to $30; cheaper for children. Parking is $5.

Memberships: Individual is $50, family is $100. Cleveland and Akron zoo members receive a 50 percent discount on the basic safari tour.

Cumberland, Ohio --The newest arrival at the Wilds, the largest wildlife conservation center in North America, soars above the treetops at speeds nearing 50 mph.

The Wild Zipline Safari, which opened last month, injects some extreme sports excitement into the home of 30 rare and endangered species, an hour east of Columbus.

The course consists of a series of 10 ziplines, made of half-inch-thick cable. Guests step into a safety harness attached to hooks and a pulley, step off of elevated platforms and zoom through dense woods and over small lakes. The longest leg is 780 feet, and the entire tour takes about 21/2 hours.

While the aerial perspective is exciting, it feels somewhat at odds with the environmental focus of the nonprofit animal park. Opened to the public in 1994 on 9,154 acres of reclaimed coal strip-mining land donated by American Electric Power, the Wilds takes justifiable pride in its skillful care and breeding of 400 exotic animals.

But this conservation work costs a lot, requiring management to devise creative new revenue streams beyond its wonderful guided tours. Unlike urban zoos, they have no major population centers close by and must work harder to attract visitors.

So in 2002, the Wilds began an affiliation with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, led by nationally known zoologist Jack Hanna. In 2003, a luxury cabin sleeping 12 debuted, called the Lodge. In 2007, the Mid-sized Carnivore Conservation Center brought into the mix cheetahs and fierce African wild dogs, whose penetrating stares will chill you.

In 2009, 10 upscale two-person yurts in a stand of woods, dubbed Nomad Ridge, opened for enchanting overnight stays, staffed by a concierge who doubles as an interpretive guide. A white-tablecloth restaurant a short stroll away serves private dinners and breakfast.

New attractions for 2011 include a horseback safari, a gentle ride that stays outside of the fenced, open-range areas holding rhinoceroses, giraffes and antelopes. Also new are more affordable lakeside cabins sleeping six, and a shorter, up-close Animal Encounter guided tour for younger visitors.

Still, the splashiest new feature is the zipline. To run it, the Wilds chose an outside company, Hocking Hills Canopy Tours, which debuted its first zipline tour in 2008 in nearby Rockbridge.

"Even though it's thrilling, it's not a thrill ride," says Canopy Tours co-owner Julieann Eckel, downplaying its wild side. Safety is the company's first priority, and their guides' expert approach is reassuring. Unless you have an inordinate fear of heights, your apprehension level probably will feel something like stepping onto Cedar Point's Millennium Force roller coaster. Once you begin, it gets much easier.

Enthusiastic guides Robby McBurney and Cody Alfred kept up a steady stream of witty patter as they led our group of six rookie zipliners. "I can't believe I'm working here," said Alfred, who received his zipline training the week before my ride in late June. "It sure beats construction."

During our quick introductory session, we learned that the hardest part is finishing each leg. If you come in too slowly, you'll stall short of the platform and have to pull yourself in, hand over hand on the cable. This happens often with lighter riders, especially when going into a headwind.

If you come in too quickly, you could crash into the post -- though the guide is instructed to get between you and any obstacle. Still, better to watch for a guide's signal to apply the brakes, easily accomplished by pressing a leather glove onto the cable. Midway through our tour, Alfred, hot-dogging it a bit, underestimated his own speed and smacked his knee into the post, opening a small cut.

The guides do all of the hooking and unhooking of our apparatus to the cables. Once, I forgot and started to do it myself, but McBurney politely stopped me. When they weren't worrying about our safety, they were throwing out occasional fun facts about the Wilds, mindful of our unique setting.

The tour brochure promises the experience will have us "soaring over herds of animals grazing in the plains, flying over rare animals basking in the sun, and seeing eye to eye with the resident giraffes." Actually, the only animals we got a close look at were Sichuan takins, an unusual cross between a goat and antelope from China. And this view came not from the zipline but one of the platforms.

After the tour, Mike Oler, a teacher from suburban Columbus, expressed mixed feelings. "I loved the experience, but when I signed us up for the zipline, I had the impression from the website that we would see more of the wildlife," he said. "I think they put it away from where most [animals] are on purpose. People who are going to see the wildlife should sign up for at least one of the other tours."

The animals probably will grow accustomed to the zipline in time, said another guest, David Valentine, also a teacher from the Columbus area. "It seems to me that the zipline towers and tourists overhead are less invasive than a vehicle driving on a roadway cut through the animals' territory," he said.

The zipline pulleys emit a whining, metallic sound, noticeable but not loud. Riders are noisier when they let out blood-curdling screams of delight or mock terror. But they are no louder than the guttural grunts of the Pere David deer from China, ranging nearby.

Some park workers I spoke with seemed reluctant to wholeheartedly endorse the zipline's arrival, but they were understanding of the need to bring in more dollars. It's a trade-off.

The Wilds, with its stunning collection of exotic animals and caring, capable staff, remains one of Ohio's best-kept secrets, a distinction it is doing its best to shake.

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